In this thesis I examine some of the fundamental questions surrounding inversion structures. I first provide an analysis of Locative Inversion. I show that the mixed A- and A- syntactic behavior of the fronted PP in English ...

The focus-sensitive scalar particle even has an idiosyncratic distribution: it may associate with a weak element in its immediate surface scope only if it is appropriately embedded. We investigate such occurrences of even ...

In this dissertation, I investigate the grammatical effects of focus and the inseparable phenomenon of givenness. As Schwarzschild (1999) has proposed, a proper understanding of givenness eliminates the need for a separate ...

This dissertation develops and defends a utilitarian approach to global distributive justice: that part of political ethics that is concerned with the distribution of benefits and burdens across the members of distinct ...

The main goal of this dissertation is to determine the best theory of de re/de dicto intensionality. Recently, it has become apparent that the traditional scope theory of this phenomenon is inadequate, the most marked ...

The central claim of this thesis is that the agent responsible for a variety of phenomena surrounding wh-operators is not those operators themselves, but rather a distinct element that we label a 'Q(uestion)-particle'. In ...

If you can help someone without detriment to your interest, nor anyone else's interest, then it is clear that you ought to do so. But things are not always so easy. When there is a conflict of interest, you have to decide ...

In this thesis, I propose a new theory of implicature. I argue that the two main theories available so far - the (Neo-)Gricean pragmatic theory on the one hand (e.g., Sauerland (2004)), and the hybrid grammatical theory ...

I begin with a discussion of two ways of imagining something: 'from the inside' and 'from the outside'. My interest in this topic is two-fold: First, I want to see what studying this topic can teach us about the nature of ...

The aim of this thesis, and the research project within which it is embedded, is to delineate a neural model of grammatical competence. For this purpose, we develop here a novel integrated, multi-disciplinary experimental ...

Being rational and being moral can be difficult. However, some theories of rationality and morality make living up to these ideals too difficult by imposing requirements which are excessively rigid. In this dissertation, ...